


A Sinistea Scheme

by EyeBeast



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Age Progression, Aging, Weight Gain, ap, eyebeast, female - Freeform, undeadpenguin37, wg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 09:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25967188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyeBeast/pseuds/EyeBeast
Summary: In  a mysterious forest Marnie and Gloria go in search of rare Pokemon.  What they find instead, is a strange house with a mischievous Sinistea  that will take from them something very precious. This is a commissioned story for undeadpenguin37 (https://www.deviantart.com/undeadpenguin37) to go along with a series of images they created.Sequence:Part 1- https://www.deviantart.com/undeadpenguin37/art/Marnie-and-Gloria-Age-Progression-821203503Part 2- https://www.deviantart.com/undeadpenguin37/art/Marnie-and-Gloria-Age-Progression-2-821591884Part 3- https://www.deviantart.com/undeadpenguin37/art/Marnie-and-Gloria-Age-Progression-3-821601780
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

A misty fog twisted around the gnarled roots and hardened trunks of the ancient trees. Thick foliage above allowed only a few of the sun’s rays to light the underused trails and paths. The lack of visibility and foreboding atmosphere led credence to the rumors that swirled around town. Tales of people going missing or coming out as completely different people were meant to deter others from venturing inside. However, that didn’t stop the odd sighting of a rare Pokémon from garnering the interest of two up and coming trainers.

Her stoic face fitting of the gloomy atmosphere, Marnie tried to peek through the thick fog. Unable to see more than a few feet in front of her, she shook her head back and forth, swinging the tips of her twin-tailed, black hair. Pulling her black jacket over her pink mini-dress, she became more agitated at herself for agreeing to come to this place. Stomping her boots into the ground in frustration, she contemplated hiking out of the woods and never looking back.

A sudden rustling in the bushes sent a chill down her spine. Grasping a Pokeball between her fingers, she got ready to fight whatever was lurking inside. She only calmed down once she saw a familiar, green hat topped with a white ball of fluff peeking out of the foliage.

“You can come out Gloria, I can see you,” Marnie announced, putting away her Pokeball.

Gloria sprung up from the bush, twigs sticking out of her chin-length, brown hair. “I scared you didn’t I?” she asked, a wide grin on her face as she plucked leaves out of her grey hoodie.

“Isn’t this a little childish even for you?” she asked back, as Gloria fixed the skirt of her magenta dress.

“So you were scared,” Gloria replied, skipping her brown boots along the ground as she gave an unwanted hug to her friend.

“I was not,” Marnie replied, a red blush going across her pale cheeks. “I just think we shouldn’t be messing around here. Everyone in town said this forest was dangerous.”

“You’ve got to stop worrying so much and have fun while you can,” Gloria replied, releasing Marnie from her grasp to twirl around in the clearing. “We’re a pair of plucky, young, 18-year old trainers. If we want to become the best, we have to take every opportunity to capture new Pokémon, explore unknown places, and better our skills. The fact that you’re out here means you feel the same.”

Marnie grasped Gloria’s hoodie to stop her from spinning. “I’m only out here because of you. If I leave you alone, I’m afraid you’ll get lost.”

“Come on, that’s only happened once.”

Marnie replied with a cold stare.

“…okay maybe three times. In any case, let’s get a move on, you Slowpoke.”

Gloria bounded off into the woods, leaving Marnie to give chase. Dodging low hanging branches and twisted roots, Marnie somehow managed to keep pace with the overly excited girl. Using her arms to shield her face from a bramble of twigs, she blindly stumbled into a dead still Gloria. Reeling backwards, Marnie got ready to scold her companion until she saw what was before them.

Looking very out of place from the overgrown forest was a decrepit house that appeared long abandoned. The windows were either cracked or missing with vines creeping through the open slits. What few tiles remained on the roof looked ready to fall apart the moment a bird landed on them. A stray wind sent a stone from the crumbling chimney rolling onto the forest floor. Despite all this, the old door barely hanging off its hinges seemed to whisper to them to come inside.

“Let’s go check it out,” Gloria said, stepping forward only to be stopped by Marnie grabbing her arm.

“Maybe we should just leave. All you’re going to find in there is just dust and junk.”

“But what if there’s a really cool Pokémon in there?” she asked back, shaking in place from anticipation. “It’ll just be a quick second, I promise.”

Giving up on trying to convince her fellow trainer to make a logical decision, Marnie released her grasp. “Okay, but just for a second.”

Pressing on the door with just a meager amount of strength was enough to send it falling into the entryway. The impact shook the dust off the bookshelves and rattled around the broken glass along the creaky floor. Undeterred by her less than graceful entrance, Gloria proceeded inside with Marnie close by. While’s Gloria’s pep was unhindered, Marnie found herself tightly grasping a Pokeball, ready at any moment to toss it at whatever terrifying thing may lurk around the next corner.

Marnie’s fears were unrealized as they made their way to a quaint looking sitting area. A fireplace that hadn’t known warmth for ages sat in silence in the middle of the room. Dusty couches and chairs were strewn atop a torn up rug, the intricate patterns sewn into the fabric proving that at some point they were cared for. Taking up one corner of the room were a pair of armchairs and a small coffee table, a once perfect place to cuddle up with a good book or entertain pleasant company.

Upon the table was a small, porcelain tea cup. It’s intricately designed blue pattern stood out amongst the rest of the dusty room with is refined craftsmanship. A face had been painted on to the side, a wide smile and big eyes mimicking a cheerful expression. Most strange of all were the wisps of steam drifting up from it. Stepping closer to the tea cup, Marnie and Gloria saw a swirling, purple liquid inside.

“What do you think this is?” Gloria asked, lifting up the cup.

“I don’t know, but you probably shouldn’t be-“

Marnie stared in awestruck silence as Gloria took a sip of the mystery beverage.

“Tastes pretty good at least,” Gloria said, smacking her lips. “I think it’s some kind of tea.”

“Are you insane or just stupid?” Marnie asked, snatching the cup from her. “Who knows how long it’s been sitting in this house. You could have been poisoned.”

“But I feel fine,” Gloria said with a shrug. “Plus, it’s really good. You should try it for yourself.”

“That’s not-“

“Stop worrying so much and drink. You have to learn to live a little.”

Partly from her own exhaustion of having to deal with Gloria’s shenanigans, Marnie did find herself a little parched from roughing it through the woods. Putting the cup to her lips, she closed her eyes and took a small sip. Just a few drops graced her tongue, but it was more than enough to sate her worries. The liquid brought a sense of calm to her hectic day, encouraging her to take another sip. Letting out a relaxed sigh, she opened her eyes to see the eyes on the cup blink back at her.

With a yelp, Marnie tossed the cup across the room. Instead of shattering against the wall, the cup floated in mid-air. The purple liquid inside reached out to grasp the cup’s handle and turn the face towards the confused trainers. “Sinistea!” it chirped, bobbing up and down as it showed off its wide smile.

Marnie immediately pulled out her Pokedex and aimed it at the living tea cup. “Sinistea, the Black Tea Pokémon,” the robotic voice spouted. “This Pokémon is said to have been born when a lonely spirit possessed a cold, leftover cup of tea. It absorbs the life-force of those who drink it.”

“What does that mean?” Gloria shouted, keeping her eyes on the Pokémon.

“I don’t know, just grab it,” Marnie replied, stowing her Pokedex and making a mad dash towards the Sinistea.

The living tea cup barely escaped the girls’ grasps as it floated through the air. Recovering quickly from slamming into one another, they tried again to snatch it before it could get away. Running through the house after it, they immediately panicked as they watched it fly out the front entrance. Marnie leapt past Gloria to try one last time to grab the Sinistea, only to be sent tumbling down by a sudden pain in her legs. Landing face flat onto the porch, she looked up just in time to watch the Sinistea disappear into the fog.

“Are you okay?” Marnie heard Gloria ask from behind her.

“Y-yeah,” Marnie replied, still recovering from the fall, “but the Sinistea got away.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. There was this stinging pain in my leg. Like something sapped me of my strength.”

Marnie saw Gloria’s outstretched hand and grabbed it to help herself stand up. Wobbling to her feet, it took a moment for her to catch her bearings, unused to something offsetting her balance. Turning back to thank her friend for the help, she stopped as she saw a blinding streak of grey going through Gloria’s hair.

“Gloria, what happened to your hair?”

“I was just about to ask the same thing about you,” she replied, plucking a grey strand from one of Marnie’s twin tails. “And, I don’t mean to be rude, but have your thighs always been that big?

Looking down at the area where she had initially felt pain, Marnie saw extra padding around her thigh. Pressing into it confirmed it was hers, alongside bringing back an aching pain. She had been running alongside Gloria for multiple trips, but this was the first time she actually got cramps from the exercise. Fearing for the worst, she pulled out her phone and dialed up Sonia.

“Hello Marnie,” the young researcher answered. “How’s your trip to the-“

“Sonia we have a problem,” Marnie interjected. “We had a run in with a Sinistea.”

“That’s odd, they’re not usually seen in this part of the region. Were you able to catch it?”

“No. We drank some of its tea and then-“

“You drank the tea!?”

Gloria grasped Marnie’s hand and pulled the phone towards herself. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“The effects aren’t completely known, but there are some theories. One of which being that Sinistea can suck energy out of people. It can cause things such as weakness, slowed metabolism, and even rapid aging, but that last part has been deemed a myth.”

Marnie and Gloria looked at one another’s strands of grey hair.

“Sonia, we’re coming to the lab,” Marnie said, grabbing Gloria on the way out of the forest.

“We need you to take a look at something.”


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks had passed since Marnie and Gloria had entered the house and drank the corrupted tea. During that time, they had been camping out in the woods searching under every rock and inside every bush. Their search was ultimately fruitless, unable to see even a trace of the Sinistea that had tainted them with its vile brew. This went beyond merely getting revenge for a harmless prank. Finding the Pokémon was about getting back something dear to them that they had lost.

After hours of traversing the foggy woods, Marnie could no longer keep up with Gloria. Leaving her companion to climb up a tree for a better view, she made her way back to camp and slumped down in a chair. Pulling out her phone, she reread the notes Sonia had sent her about the Sinistea. Describing the side effects brought the professor to a conclusion that Marnie wasn’t willing to believe was real. However, over the course of the week of watching both of their bodies change, she had to accept that the legends were true.

Pulling out a hand mirror, she lamented the strands of grey that were mixed in with her black hair. Holding up one of her twin tails, she was still amazed how they could have doubled in length in such a small amount of time. However, the increase in size was not limited to just her hair as evidenced by the padding surrounding her thighs. The dress that was once cute on her was starting to show its wear and tear from her time in the woods and her body’s changes. Her once modest chest had ballooned into a pair of C-cups, which would have been more appreciated if they didn’t stretch out her dress. The added curves of her hips sucked up some of the fabric of her skirt, letting her get a feel for the start of a chubby belly around her flat-midsection.

Ignoring her sore legs and disheveled clothing for a moment, Marnie lifted the hand mirror up to her face. Looking at her reflection, she guessed she was in her late thirties or even her early forties. Tracing her finger along what was the start of wrinkles around her face, she was both amazed and furious that this was all caused by a single Pokémon.

A thrashing in the bushes got Marnie to put away her mirror. Taking a moment to get out of her camping chair, she pulled out a Pokeball at the slight chance that her target would appear. The sight of ball of white fluff peeking out filled her with a mix of relief and disappointment.

From out of the bush, Gloria came out with her formfitting outfit showing off her matured curves and numerous twigs stuck in her jacket. To make way for her buxom, D-cup breasts, she had opened up her coat to let them swing back and forth. Her run through the woods left her breathing heavily, stumbling right past Marnie to plant her wide hips in a chair. Pushing back the streaks of grey mixed in with her hair, she rested her chubby legs and placed a hand over her still beating chest.

“What were you doing out there anyway?” Marnie asked.

“Same as I’ve been doing this past week,” she replied, one hand on her wider mid-section and another wiping a bead of sweat from the lines of her forming crow’s feet. “Been running all over the woods looking for that Sinistea. After I reached the top of the tree, I saw something moving around and I leapt off after it. Turned out to just be a Skwovet.”

Fishing a water canteen out of her bag, Marnie took a small sip before handing it over to Gloria. “I know the professor said that we need to catch it in order to reverse the aging, but you need to be careful. Who knows what our bodies can handle right now.”

Graciously accepting the canteen, Gloria took a long gulp. “Well, it’s not like we’re trying to catch an everyday Rookidee. You heard Sonia, Sinistea is a rare sighting in this area. That might be the only one.” Taking another sip of water, she placed the canteen on the ground between them. “We have to give it our all before it decides to vanish into thin air.”

“I still think we should be careful about it. Ghost Pokemon in general can be tricky, especially one that can suck up life energy.”

Gloria shook her head. “You trying to act your age? We might look like our moms, but we’re still young enough to take on any challenge head on.” Picking up the canteen, she took another sip before handing it back to Marnie. “Did you put something in the water? It tastes a little funny.”

“No,” Marnie replied, taking back the canteen. Putting the container to her lips, she tasted something that was both strange and familiar. Swallowing a mouthful of the water, she peeked inside the container and saw a glimmer of purple.

“Sinistea!”

Marnie and Gloria jumped out of their seats as they turned to see the Pokémon they had been searching for hovering just a few feet behind them. Turning over the canteen, Marnie watched as a mixture of water and purple tea came trickling out onto the ground. “It did it again!” she yelled, tossing the canteen to the ground.

“Grab it!”

Again, Gloria and Marnie leapt towards the Pokémon only to succeed in slamming into one another. The impact was cushioned slightly by their curvier forms, but swift aches in their legs made them instantly regret their decision. Sprawled out on the forest floor, the pair of trainers slowly picked themselves up. Stopping to look at the scuff marks on each other’s faces, they watched as several more strands of grey appeared in their hair.

“Sinistea-tea-tea,” the Pokémon laughed, bouncing up and down to celebrate what it thought was a harmless prank. Gloria reaching a single hand out towards it was enough to send it bobbing off back into the misty woods. All that remained was the purple liquid seeping into the dirt and a few extra inches added to their hair and waistlines.

“It’s treating this like a game,” Marnie said, her body creaking as she held onto her chair to help pick herself up.

“Well, it’s not a very fun one,” Gloria replied, stumbling a bit as she tried to get her legs to remain steady.

Settling in her chair, Marnie rested her weakened legs, feeling even more tired than before. Holding up her hand, she could see that her nails were already longer than she remembered. Clenching her fist, she wondered just how much worse it could get.


	3. Chapter 3

A loud ripping noise made Marnie stop dead in her tracks. After trekking through the forest for countless hours she knew what the sound meant. Carefully maneuvering her body to avoid any unnecessary stretching or cramps, she shrugged off the remnants of her jacket. The poor piece of clothing had served her well, but it had been torn apart by stray branches and the results of her changing body. It was just one of many things that had been taken from her by the Sinistea’s idea of harmless pranks.

Looking away from her tattered jacket, her gaze drifted down to her breasts, ample in their E-cup size, but lacking in posture. Without her jacket squeezed around her torso, her boobs were free to sag several inches down. The slight pudge of her belly caught the heavy mounds, the only advantage of the weight gained from her slowed metabolism. Unable to bring herself to toss the garment away, she tied what remained of her jacket around her hips, helping to cover the extra padding around her rear and the added chub around her thighs.

Jacket secured around her body, she turned to continue her walk back to camp. Her movement was stopped again by one of her twin tails swinging around and catching in the front. Grasping the errant strands in her hand, she found it harder to find more than a few black hairs mixed in with the grey. Brushing it behind her back, she felt the tip sway against her bare calves. Fixing up the stray hairs above her forehead, she inadvertently pressed her fingers against her prominent crow’s feet. She traced the wrinkles that had begun to from around her cheeks. The face lines helped cement her appearance of being around 60 years old despite only three weeks having passed since her first run in with the Sinistea.

With her appearance put into a somewhat acceptable state, she trudged through the woods back towards the campsite. Each step was a stark reminder of how tired her legs were after what should have been an easy walk. Ever since her second helping of the tainted tea, she had become less willing to trudge her way through the underbrush in favor of trails that winded between the trees. This highly limited her ability to search for the elusive Pokémon, but it was necessary to keep her legs from cramping up every few minutes.

Setting her sights on the camp site, Marnie allowed herself to let out an exhausted sigh of relief. Already planning to lounge about in a chair to rest her weary bones, her calm mood was immediately disturbed by an unwanted guest floating about their food supply. The Sinistea was busy pouring its foul, purple liquid into one of their water containers, a trick that it had played many times to accelerate their aging.

Keeping her eyes trained on Sinistea, Marnie reached for her Pokeball. She had learned from their previous encounters how slippery the little Pokémon could be. Clenching her fingers around the ball containing Morpeko, she was ready to launch a surprise attack to finally capture the malevolent prankster.

Something whizzing by her head made Marnie nearly fall over. In the center of the camp, she watched someone else’s Pokeball bounce against the dirt before releasing its contents. From a bright red flash, the unmistakable intimidating stature of a Snorlax was seen. Stomping its heavy feet into the ground, the heavyset beast opened its mouth for a roar that almost sounded like a yawn. Taking her eyes away from the lumbering giant, Marnie turned to the side, knowing who would be there.

As expected, she saw Gloria doubled over and breathing heavily with her hat a few inches away from falling off. Despite her sagging chest, pudgy waistline, and padded rear being just as cumbersome as Marnie’s, the fact that she needed to take things slow hadn’t quite registered in her head. Even with the buttons on her shirt about ready to snap and her jacket in tatters, she looked like she had charged straight through the woods without a care for her safety. Her rashness showed its toll in the way her unkempt, hair bounced against her chest, the brown and grey follicles carrying stray leaves and twigs. Wrinkles around her cheeks were more pronounced than Marnie’s, owing to her big expressions and tendency to smile. However, her cheerful attitude was nowhere to be seen, replaced with a determination that kept her eyes locked on their elusive target.

“Gloria what do you think you’re doing?”

“Ending that little prankster’s reign of terror and getting our youth back,” she replied, striking the most dynamic pose her aged body would allow. “You just watch. Snorlax is my strongest Pokémon. He’ll take care of Sinistea before you know it.”

“That’s not going to work. Snorlax is-UGH!” Marnie had to stop as a sudden cramp sent a sharp pain through her leg. Crumpling to the ground, she could only watch as her friend stepped forward to lead the battle.

“Snorlax, finish this off quick with a body slam!” Gloria shouted, hoisting up her fist and shaking the pudge clinging to her upper arm.

The hulking beast proved to be surprisingly mobile as he charged towards the Sinistea. Leaping into the air, Snorlax flattened himself out to eclipse the sun with his body. His mass came slamming down with enough force to blow away their tent and scatter the leaves from the branches of the nearby trees. Slowly picking himself up, Snorlax revealed the flattened earth beneath him, minus any sign of the malevolent tea cup.

“Sinistea-tea-tea,” the ghostly tea cup laughed from behind him, having easily dodged the massive brute.

“Go for another body slam!” Gloria commanded, hoisting up her arm with a little less energy.

Again Snorlax leapt into the sky and came slamming down on the Sinistea. Just like before, Sinistea floated away to safety as he crushed one of their camping chairs. Picking himself back up, Snorlax continued to slam his body all over the campsite in an attempt to capture the mischievous Pokémon. All that managed to do was destroy half of their supplies and put on a good show for malevolent spirit.

“I don’t understand,” Gloria said, tired just from the act of calling out attacks. “How can Snorlax keep missing?”

“Because normal type attacks don’t work on ghost Pokémon,” Marnie answered, having to shout over the sound of Snorlax crashing through a table. “Call Snorlax back and let me take care of it. Morpeko should be able to-“

“No, I can handle this!” Gloria demanded, out of breath from her constant commands. “Snorlax is my strongest Pokémon, I know he can do it.” Standing up straight, she set her eyes on the Sinistea. “Snorlax, use hyper beam!” she shouted, raising her fist only to crumple from a sudden cramp.

While his trainer was worse for wear, Snorlax heard the command loud and clear. Stomping his feet into the ground, he began sucking up air to collect energy in his mouth. Reeling backwards, he let the energy loose with a beam of yellow light aimed directly at the Sinistea.

Neither Gloria or Marnie could see what happened, only the aftermath. Amidst the wrecked campsite and beaten dirt, Snorlax stood alone. A portion of the forest had been burned clear by the attack, leaving several trees reduced to ash. The powerful attack had left Snorlax wobbling on his feet, gasping for air from his exertion. At first glance, there were no signs of Sinistea. For a moment, they both silently wondered if it had been vaporized from existence.

From out of the trees, something came flying out to slam right into the Snorlax’s chest. The impact was enough to send the brute tumbling to the ground. Giving into his exhaustion, Snorlax closed his eyes as he went unconscious. Hovering above his motionless form, Sinistea floated as its entire body began to glow. Blocking their vision from the blinding light, Gloria and Marnie looked up again to see what looked like an antique tea pot, baring the same designs of the accursed tea cup. The lid popped off to make way for a head of purple liquid to peek out and smile at the dumbfounded trainers.

“Did it just evolve?” Gloria asked.

“No, that can’t be right,” Marnie said, pulling out her Pokedex to look up information on the evolved form. “Sinistea shouldn’t be able to evolve without a specific item. How did it become a-“

“Polteageist-geist-geist!” the possessed tea pot called out.

Whirling about in the air, Polteageist aimed its spout at the awestruck trainer’s open mouths. Before Marnie could glance at the warning printed on Polteageist’s entry, it was already too late. A spout of the cursed tea spritzed into both of their mouths, assuring another increase in their aging process. Trying in vain to spit out the tea, the pair watched the Pokémon drift back into the misty woods.

“Don’t just stand there, let’s get him,” Gloria called out, only to stumble onto the ground.

“You can’t keep doing that,” Marnie reprimanded. Holding up her hair, she watched a few of her remaining black strands turn grey. “We need to be careful. I don’t know how much time we have left.”


	4. Chapter 4

Carefully tying the rope around the root set the trap. It was an admittedly simple setup, using a glass of water as bait to draw in Polteageist. The plan was that as soon as the Pokémon went to taint the drink, a Pokeball suspended above would fall right onto it. If they were lucky, Polteageist would be caught and they could return to their youthful days that seemed so long ago.

Marnie’s back creaked loudly as she got back into a standing position. She carefully guided her swaying twin tailed hair as she stood up, their tips nearly reaching the ground. Holding one between her bony fingers, she grimaced at the sight of the blinding white color that had taken over her locks. Sliding her elongated nails through the pale strands, she still couldn’t believe how fast her body had aged in only three days. Although it was hard to deny the facts when looking at her body.

Letting her hair go allowed the strands to brush against her pudgy belly, the chubby protrusion peeking out between a rip in her dress. The collar of her dress had stretched out to make way for her sagging breasts, each one hanging off the side of her belly. Reaching a flabby, arm back she tried to carefully pull her skirt over her chunky butt, her pale skin and liver spots showing the wear and tear of a woman that was nearing 80. Sliding her fingers along the various wrinkles adorning her forehead, cheeks, and neck she was very aware how little time left she had to capture Polteageist. Pulling her fingers away from the deep bags under eyes, she grasped the stick she used as a makeshift walking cane and shuffled her way back to camp.

She found Gloria just where she left her. After trading shifts to setup traps, the once energetic trainer was supposed to be napping in their sole surviving chair from her Snorlax’s battle. However, the stubborn, senior trainer was still wide awake, greeting Marnie with a weak wave as she kept her eyes trained on the woods on the off chance she would see Polteageist.

The aging effects had hit Gloria just as hard as Marnie, if not harder due to her insistence of pushing her weakened form to its limits. Despite her constant efforts, that didn’t stop a pudgy potbelly from taking up her mid-section. Her woolen jacket long abandoned after countless rips and tears, she was down to just her blouse, with several buttons devoted to keeping her drooping bosom somewhat in control. Varicose veins could be seen spread across her bare, pale legs shifting alongside her pudge as she nervously shifted her padded rear against the seat.

Upon hearing Marnie’s stick break open a twig Gloria turned towards her, chest-length mop of white hair partially obscuring her face. Brushing aside the wispy locks and stuffing them into her worn-out hat, she showed the various wrinkles that covered her face. Most notable were the lines drawn around her cheeks that came from her constant smiling before her latest change. Now though, the wrinkles just served as a reminder of a time when they had a better chance of regaining what was lost.

“Did you see it?” Gloria asked, her scratchy voice holding only a fraction of her usual enthusiasm.

“No, but the traps are set,” Marnie responded in a similarly crone-like voice. “All we can do is wait.” Stopping near a tree, Marnie carefully lowered herself down to avoid damaging her brittle bones. “More importantly, why are you still awake? I told you that you needed to rest.”

Gloria let out an annoyed huff. “You honestly expect me to sleep the day away like an old hag while that thing is still out there? Sitting on my butt isn’t going to help us find it any faster.”

“I understand how you feel, but you won’t help anyone if you’re sprawled out on the ground because of a sprained ankle or broken hip. We’re not young anymore. We have to be careful to not waste what little time we have left.”

Biting her lip, Gloria slowly got up from her feet and started shuffling towards the trees.

“Where are you going?” Marnie asked, already grasping her walking stick.

“Back to look through the forest. You said it yourself that those traps are a long shot. The only way we’ll make progress is if I go out and do some legwork.”

“I told you,” Marnie said, grunting as she got back on her feet, “we can’t do that. You push your body too far and I might not be strong enough to help you.”

“Then don’t worry about me. Just let me search by myself.”

Marnie ignored her creaking joints to step in front of Gloria’s path. “I can’t let you do that.”

Gloria pushed into her friend, ripping another tear in both of their clothing. “Let me through Marnie.”

“No,” she replied, dropping her walking stick to grasp Gloria’s wrists. “I’m not going to let your kill yourself out there.”

Pushing back a little harder, Gloria tried to escape her friend’s hold. “If I don’t do anything at all, we’ll both be dead before the end of the week.”

Feeling Gloria push back, Marnie exerted her weakened muscles to bring them both to the ground. Amidst the rustling of fallen leaves and their creaking joints, the pair continued to struggle against one another.

“Why are you like this?” Marnie asked, gritting her teeth as Gloria’s kneed her in her stomach pudge.

“You call me your friend and you still have to ask that, you old geezer?” Gloria shot back.

“I do know you, but you’ve never been this reckless. Why are you so willing to push yourself so hard?”

“Because it’s my fault we’re like this!”

Gloria’s shout made them both stop dead still. Slowly Marnie released Gloria’s arms and rolled off of her. Looking back to her friend, she saw tears starting to stream down the lines on her face.

“If it wasn’t for me…we wouldn’t be like this,” Gloria said clenching her fists. “You tried to tell me to stop. You warned me it could be dangerous, but I’m the idiot who didn’t listen.” She paused to wipe away the tears dripping down her cheeks. “After all that talk about enjoying our youth, I went and wasted it away with my stupid decisions. Even worse, everything I’ve tried to do to fix things just screwed us up even more.” Unable to contain herself any more, she buried her head in her arms and let he tears flow freely.

Shuffling along the ground, Marnie wrapped her arms around Gloria. “You made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed. It was my decision to follow you into the house and it’s by my own free will that I’ve stuck with you during this ordeal. Gloria, you’ve been my friend for what feels like decades. We might be in our sunset years, but I don’t regret getting to spend that time with you.”

With a sniffle, Gloria peeked her head up. “You mean it?”

“Of course. I know we’ll get through this, but we have to do it together. Is that a promise?”

A small smile crept across Gloria’s wrinkled face. “Promise,” she said, leaning forward to return the hug with her own, nearly breaking Marnie’s back in the process.

Something snapping nearby made them both turn their heads back towards the forest. A flash of red light in the trees similar to a Pokeball going off made them stagger to their feet and move as fast as their decrepit bodies would allow. Climbing over stray roots, they arrived just in time to see one of their traps had sprung. The Pokeball rolled along the ground, the creature inside struggling to escape. They only exhaled once the light turned off and the ball remained motionless.

Neither trainer moved towards the ball, on the off chance Polteageist was using it as a trap. Very carefully, they both pulled out their Pokedexes and aimed it at the captured Pokémon. Anxiety gripped them as their devices read the data inside. Seeing the image of Polteageist spring up on the screen, Marnie showed off her rare smile and let Gloria pull her into another hug.

“We did it! We did it!” Gloria shouted.

“I know, I know, you don’t have to yell my ear off. My hearing is bad enough as it is,” Marnie replied. “Although, I don’t remember if I set that trap or not. Who knows which one of us caught it.”

“Who cares? All that’s important is that we got the little trickster and we can be young again. Phone up Sonia and tell her the good news.”

Slipping out of Gloria’s grasp, Marnie pulled up her phone and tapped her bony fingers away at the screen as fast as she could. “Sonia,” she said, putting the professor on speaker phone, “we did it. We caught the Polteageist.”

“That’s excellent news,” Sonia replied on the other end of the line. “Just in time too, I just figured out the method needed to reverse the aging effects.”

“Well don’t keep us waiting,” Gloria butted in, regaining some of her youthful energy, “tell us how soon we can stop being senior citizens.”

“About that…”

An unsettling silence filled the area.

“Sonia,” Marnie spoke, “what’s going on? Can’t you reverse our aging?”

“I can, but…”

“But what?” Gloria asked, shaking the phone in Marnie’s hands.

“Well, I can reverse the process, but it requires all of the energy that Polteageist has stored. There will only be enough to turn one of you back.”

Marnie bit her lip. “Sonia, if this is some kind of joke-“

“It’s not!” the professor shouted. “I’m afraid it’s our only option. You’ll have to decide which one of you will go back to normal.”

A dead silence pervaded the misty area. Slowly Gloria released Marnie’s hand. Devoid of any of her former levity, she opened her mouth.

“No,” Marnie stated.

“But I-“

“I said no,” Marnie repeated to Gloria. “If you just give it to me, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

“It’s my fault though. Let me make up for it.”

“That wouldn’t be fair to you though.”

Gloria pulled off her hat and slammed it onto the ground. “Then how else do we decide it?”

Marnie showed off a confident grin. “The only way trainers like us know how.”


	5. Chapter 5

Stepping in front of the locker room mirror, Marnie tried to memorize the image of her nude, aged up body. She detested her pale skin, liver spots, chubby belly, and sagging breasts, but she knew that this might be the last time she would see herself like this for many years. Holding one of her tails of hair in her hands, the sight of black mixed in with the grey showed that her body had regained some of her youth. The glimmer of hope was extinguished by the thought that any further changes would require the full strength of Polteageist, dooming either Gloria or herself to be stuck in their elderly state.

Pushing her concerns to the side, Marnie turned to a more immediate problem. Taking her trainer uniform off the rack, she sucked in her gut as she squeezed the top down her torso. Her drooping breasts regained some of their form from the tight shirt, at the cost of leaving her pudgy belly on display. Putting on her shorts turned out to be just as difficult, if not worse. Each tug of the tight fabric over her sore legs brought a slight pain to her aching bones. Barely fitting the shorts over her hips, she peeked back at her ridiculous reflection in the mirror. Bemoaning the fact that their need to rush putting together an official match left no time to acquire more fitting uniforms, Marnie double-checked her Pokeballs and exited the locker room.

Walking out onto the field, she reminisced about the blood pumping battles she had experienced in this stadium. Despite her odd appearance, the crowd was still alive with excitement of seeing her skills. This was especially true considering the stakes of the battle and who her opponent was.

Arriving at the center of the field around the same time as Marnie, Gloria hobbled up looking just as haggard. Like Marnie, her unfit uniform didn’t do any favors in the way it put front and center her pendulum-like breasts, chubby waistline, and cellulite-covered thighs. Upon seeing Marnie reach her, she managed to force a smile on her wrinkled face. Pushing back her locks of brown and grey hair she stepped up to meet her, her smile wavering as she glanced at Marnie’s shaking legs.

“Marnie…are you sure you want to do this?”

Marnie let out a sigh as she pulled out her first Pokeball. “Yes, I’m sure. I wouldn’t feel right about you just giving away Polteageist. I’d be young again, but I couldn’t bear to watch you suffer alone. It’s better this way.”

“If you say so,” Gloria replied lowering her head as she pulled out her Pokeball.

“Don’t be so gloomy,” Marnie said with a smile to curl the wrinkles on her cheeks. “When this is over, we’ll still be friends. One us will just be a bit wiser, in both age and fighting skill. Now come on, I don’t want you going easy on me.”

Gloria mirrored Marnie’s expression. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

Shaking each other’s hands, the old women shuffled to their starting points. The announcer came up on the loudspeaker, hyping up the skills and stakes of the two trainers’ battle. With the crowd properly riled up, the announcer began counting down. Reaching zero, the buzzer sounded to start the match.

A pair of loud cracks echoed through the stadium. The crowd’s enthusiasm was dampened by the sight of Gloria and Marnie crumpled over in pain from overextending their throwing arms. Watching from the balcony seats, Sonia could only wince as she watched the two trainers try to recover from the pain.

“I can only pray I’m not like that when I reach their age.”

Turning around, Sonia saw Professor Magnolia standing behind her. “Professor? What are you doing here?”

“Same as you,” the old professor replied, taking her seat. “I wanted to see the fight.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a Pokeball and handed it out towards Sonia. “That and I thought you might want this.”

“What is it?”

“When I heard about their peculiar predicament, I recalled some research notes sent to me by another young trainer in the region. I phoned him up and he just so happened to have a captured a Polteageist that matched the markings of the one they encountered.”

“This is great!” Sonia said, clutching onto the ball for dear life. “Should we stop the match?”

“No, let them fight it out,” Magnolia replied, watching the trainers summon the strength to gently bounce their Pokeballs out onto the field. “We’ll tell them about the other Polteageist after the match. It’s rare that you get to see two friends give it their all in battle. Should be something truly worthy of reminiscing about when they reach this age again.”


End file.
